Friends & Johnny Cash fans — Help Arkansas State University and the City of Dyess preserve and open the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home to the public. Vote to help us win $25,000 to go towards the restoration of the house that inspired and cultivated Johnny’s songwriting and music.

ASU and the City of Dyess were chosen from a national pool of applicants to be one of 100 historic “places that matter” who are eligible to win $25,000 to go towards the restoration of the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home. We are competing for votes with 99 other sites, so we’re trying to get our name and link our there as much as possible – please pass on to friends and family.

A quick one-time vote and a valid email address is all it takes for you to support the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home project. Contest ends June 30th. VOTE TODAY! (registration required to vote)

ASU has recently purchased the boyhood home of Johnny Cash in Dyess. As one way to fund the restoration, we have been selected to compete for the “This Place Matters” grant through the National Trust for Historic Preservation for this site. It is a popularity contest to see how many votes each entry can receive. The first place prize is $25,000.

Here is where you can help. If you will take a few minutes to go to: www.preservationnation.org/communitychallengeand register to vote for Arkansas State University and the City of Dyess, you can help us secure first place and stay there. It only takes a few minutes. You can only vote one time per email account but if you have more than one email, I would encourage you to vote with each account. As of today we keep moving from first to third and then back.

Every day, visitors from around the world come to see the place where he grew up. But this is not the house that JC Cash lived in. His house was new, freshly-painted inside and out, and a dream-come-true for his family. We want to restore it back to the original and we can with your help.

You have a little bit of time – until June 30th, so please vote.

If you have already voted, thank you. I knew you would do it.

And if you haven’t bought your tickets for the Johnny Cash Music Festival on August 4th, consider this your reminder, too.